The red brick bones of architect A.E. Doyle’s stately Georgian-style Central Library that have graced downtown Portland since 1909 remain largely intact after an extensive renovation, but the gran dame’s cosmetics and accessories are substantially different.
For instance:
-- Nearby, a kiosk offers 48 laptop computers than can be
signed out with a library card for up to two hours of use in the building.
-- Dozens of soft easy chairs dot the main reading rooms.
-- Scores of sit-down computer portals offer internet and
library reference access.
-- More open spaces are available for community gatherings
or meetings.
-- New carpets and brighter colors are found throughout.
-- A small, closed space is “reserved for writers,” in case
anyone does that sort of thing anymore.
-- Tall bookshelves are gone, except for those backed up to
walls.
-- The non-profit Friends of the Library organization has a
glass-enclosed lobby space for selling library-related mementos.
-- New landscaping allowing for outdoor seating and gathering spaces.
-- A new, gentler weheelchair ramp.
-- Men roving slowly with identity badges hanging from their
necks appear to be plain-clothes security, who, in the absence of the old tall
shelves, have largely unobstructed views of patrons sitting or standing.
Brighter color, fewer shelves |
And something else that’s different? “There seem to be fewer books,” I said to a kindly librarian. “About half,” he replied. Presumably the other half are in storage and can be recaptured as needed.
In essence, the changes tell us that a modern library is as
much a social service agency as it is a place to read books, magazines and
newspapers. The renovation acknowledges
that people from all walks of life need computers not only for entertainment but
for survival, even if they cannot afford to own one.
Check out a laptop here |
There are those among us who see a public library as one of society’s greatest agencies for its ability to provide information, truth, pleasure and entertainment all at once to everyone with no admission fee. Let’s hope that all who use it will enjoy it, respect its advantages and protect it.
The restrooms appear to be fentanyl-ready for which the "lived experiences" of many current patrons is a plus.
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